The present invention relates to a unit, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording material through an electrophotographic image formation type process. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus may be an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (an LED printer, a laser beam printer or the like), an electrophotographic printer type facsimile machine, an electrophotographic printer type word processor or the like.
The process cartridge is a cartridge containing as a unit an electrophotographic photosensitive member and charge means, developing means or cleaning means (process means), the unit being detachably mountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge is a cartridge containing as a unit an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least one of charge means, developing means and cleaning means (process means), the unit being detachably mountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge may be a cartridge containing as a unit an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least developing means (process means), the unit being detachably mountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The unit is an assembly which is demountably mountable as a whole to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Examples of the unit include a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording material, a developing unit for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a feeding unit for accommodating the recording material.
The memory member is mounted to the process cartridge or unit and stores information relating to the process cartridge or the unit. The memory member may be a FERAM, or a non-volatile memory such as a ferromagnetic memory or the like.
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic image forming process, use has been made with the process cartridge type system in which the process cartridge comprises as a unit the electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the unit being detachably mountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. With the use of the process cartridge type system, the maintenance operation can be carried out in effect by the users without the necessity of relying on serviceman, and therefore, the operability is improved. For this reason, it is widely used in the image forming apparatus.
For further easier maintenance operations for the main assembly of the image forming apparatus and for the process cartridge, the following method is used. A storing element (memory or storing means) is provided in the process cartridge, and the servicing information is stored in the storing element. When the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus, a connector provided in the main assembly of the apparatus and a connector provided in the process cartridge are connected with each other. Through the connectors, the information in the storing element is taken by the main assembly of the apparatus. The main assembly of the apparatus discriminates the time of exchange of the process cartridge or the like, on the basis of the information. By doing so, the user is prompted for the maintenance operation of the process cartridge and/or the main assembly of the apparatus.
When the connectors are used for the electrical connection between the storing element provided in the process cartridge and the main assembly of the apparatus, the configuration of the process cartridge is complicated to permit the connector to be mounted. Therefore, the process cartridge tends to be bulky.
The present invention is intended to provide a further development of the above-described structure.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a unit having a memory member, a process cartridge having the memory member and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein there is provided a storing element for storing information, and the information stored in the storing element is transmitted to the main assembly of the apparatus through an antenna.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a unit having a memory member, a process cartridge having the memory member and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which there is provided a storing element for storing information, and the information stored in the storing element is transmitted to the main assembly of the apparatus without direct electric contact to the main assembly of the apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a unit having a memory member, a process cartridge having the memory member and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus wherein there is provided a storing element for storing information, and the information stored in the storing element is transmitted to the main assembly of the apparatus through wireless communication.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a unit having a memory member, a process cartridge having the memory member and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which there is provided a storing element for storing information, and in which the unit and the process cartridge is not bulky.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a unit having a memory member, a process cartridge having the memory member and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus wherein there is provided a storing element for storing information, and the storing element is protected from an external load or from electrostatic disturbance.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a unit detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, comprising:
(a) a unit frame; and
(b) a memory member supported by the unit frame, the memory member including; a base; a storing element, provided on the base, for storing information; a memory antenna, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to a main assembly antenna provided in a main assembly of the apparatus, when the memory member is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; a sending member, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to the memory antenna; and an outer casing member covering the substrate provided with the storing element, the sending member and the memory antenna, wherein the memory member is disposed substantially at a central portion of the unit frame with respect to a direction crossing with a mounting direction in which the unit is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, comprising:
(a) an electrophotographic photosensitive member;
(b) process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member;
(c) a cartridge frame; and
(d) a memory member supported by the cartridge frame, the memory member including: a base; a storing element, provided on the base, for storing information; a memory antenna, provided on the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to a main assembly antenna provided in the main assembly of the apparatus when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; a sending member, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to the memory antenna; and an outer casing member covering the base provided with the storing element, the sending member and the memory antenna, wherein the memory member is disposed substantially at a central portion of the cartridge frame with respect to a direction crossing with a mounting direction in which the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, to which a unit is detachably mountable, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a main assembly antenna;
(b) a unit including: a unit frame; and a memory member provided in the unit frame, the memory member having: a base; a storing element, provided on the base, for storing information; a memory antenna, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to a main assembly antenna provided in a main assembly of the apparatus, when the unit is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; a sending member, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to the memory antenna; and an outer casing member covering the base provided with the storing element, the sending member and the memory antenna, wherein the memory member is disposed substantially at a central portion of the unit frame with respect to a direction crossing with a mounting direction in which the unit is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; and
(c) feeding means for feeding the recording material.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising:
(a) a main assembly antenna;
(b) mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge, the process cartridge including: an electrophotographic photosensitive member; process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member; a cartridge frame; and a memory member provided in the process cartridge, the memory member having: a base; a storing element, provided on the base, for storing information; a memory antenna, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to a main assembly antenna provided in a main assembly of the apparatus, when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; a sending member, provided in the base, for sending the information stored in the storing element to the memory antenna; and an outer casing member covering the base provided with the storing element, the sending member and the memory antenna, wherein the memory member is disposed substantially at a central portion of the cartridge frame with respect to a direction crossing with a mounting direction in which the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; and
(c) feeding means for feeding the recording material.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.